Interview with Cengiz "Django" Tüylü - MrSavage's agent and advisor
An agent is someone who looks after a player’s best interests, including securing sponsorship deals, negotiating with esports organisations and offering career development advice. Cengiz is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of mousesports, one of the most established and successful esports organisations in Germany. In recent years, Cengiz has devoted his time to a select group of talented players including my son Martin “MrSavage” Foss Andersen.
This interview originally appeared in the book Build It Like benjyfishy & MrSavage: The Unofficial Fortnite Esports Guide for Players and Parents, written by Anne Fish and me.
Cengiz and Martin the day they first met at Martin's home in Oslo, Norway, back in 2019. Photo credit MrSavage.
How did you become Martin's agent and advisor?
Cengiz: ‘Martin’s manager Peter (read our interview with Peter here) is a good friend and protégé of the Norwegian Counter-Strike Legend, Ola “Element” Moum. Ola played for mousesports back in 2011, and I met him again a few years later, when he was inducted in the Esports Hall of Fame. In early 2019, Ola told me about Peter, who managed a talented Fortnite kid called MrSavage, whose parents were actively looking for representation. Ola introduced me to Peter and the Foss Andersen family. The rest is kind of history.’
How does a player get representation?
Cengiz: ‘Back in 2015–16, there were no agencies at all. With all the hype and money around esports the later years, a lot of agents have found their way into the industry. A few years ago, players had to look for agents themselves, but nowadays you can expect to get approached at a very early stage of your esports career.’
What do you see as the most important aspects of your job?
Cengiz: ‘The commercial aspect is the one people think of at first – like sponsorships and negotiations.
However, I think my most valuable asset is my experience, since I started with esports already in 2002 with mousesports. I have run an esports team and have had the privilege to work with great talent, including Niko “NiKo” Kovac in CSGO, Anton “Cooller” Singov in Quake and Benjamin “Problem X” Simon in Street Fighter, as well as winning championships (such as Counter-Strike World Championship 2008, Quake 4 World Championship 2005 and Street Fighter World Championship 2018), but also playing a role in important and innovative brand partnerships that helped to shape the industry.
I think that is why I’m matching so well with Martin and his team, as we are aiming to help Martin’s longterm career doing the right moves.’
When should a player consider getting agent representation?
Cengiz: ‘As soon as there is a demand (official offers) from bigger, more established esports organisations. If you don’t want to hire an agent, at least have legal counsel for all contracts.’
Are there any pitfalls to watch out for when hiring an agency?
Cengiz: ‘I have seen a lot of agents from the traditional sports world entering esports, as they have expansion and growth objectives. However, I think it is very valuable to find experienced people with a heritage within esports, a network within the gaming industry and an understanding of the specific titles. Esports is very different to traditional sports and a still very young entertainment and sports industry.’
Do you handle the legal side as well?
Cengiz: ‘I’m in charge of all of Martin’s negotiations with brands and esports organisations, but when it comes to detailed contractual work, we are hiring lawyers from all over the world depending on the contract’s jurisdiction and content, like employment law or media rights.’
How do agencies get compensated?
Cengiz: ‘There are certainly several compensation models, but as far as it concerns my work with Martin we agreed on a fixed and monthly percentage commission fee, which is the most common model.’
Should a player just accept any sponsorship request?
Cengiz: ‘No, of course not. Obviously there needs to be some sort of ethical standard and nobody should accept any sponsorship request per se. Esports professionals are role models for the young generation to come. Personally, I am convinced of a more sustainable and long-term strategy, only working with sponsors that share the same values and offer products that you feel comfortable with using and promoting to your fans. At the same time, decisions are highly influenced through financial factors, so there is a lot to consider on an individual level.’
Martin was only fourteen years old when you began to work with him. Are there any special considerations to make for such young players?
Cengiz: ‘Getting recognition and fame on social media or even in mainstream media, as in Martin’s case, requires a very stable character and realistic perspective on things. It is important not to neglect education, friends and family, as an esports career can end abruptly for reasons beyond one’s control, like the game not being popular anymore. It is also very important to have supportive parents with a clear view, conveying the right values and finding the balance between things.
The young player needs to understand that this is work and requires a certain discipline, on the other side it needs to stay fun, because that is the main reason why someone is becoming so good and enthusiastic about playing a video game.’
Cengiz watching over chrisJ‘s shoulder during DreamHack Stockholm 2018. Photo credit Cengiz Tüylü.
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Interested in learning more about MrSavage but also his duo partner benjyfishy and how they built their career? Check out the book Build It Like benjyfishy & MrSavage with a wealth of useful information both for players and parents alike.
